Text in Afrikaans / Die komplementariteit tussen afstand en intimiteit in die terapeutiese verhouding word ge"illustreer en bespreek aan die hand van 'n enkeie gevallestudie. Die klem is op rekursiewe en selfverwysende prosesse wat tussen die terapeut en kiient plaasvind, sodat die vvyse waarop intiemer en meer afstandelike interaksies ge-kokreer is, uitgelig word. Die terapeutiese proses word binne die raamwerk van die ekosistemiese en sosiale konstruksionistiese epistomologie bespreek. Navorsing word uitgevoer volgens die naturalistiese navorsingsparadigma en raakpunte tussen die navorsingsparadigma en epistomologie wat bespreek is, word aan die hand van die gevaliestudie ge"illustreer. In die studie word daar ook verwys na verwante kwessies, soos aanraking en grense in die terapeutiese verhouding, terapie as 'n a-sosiale konteks, terapie as 'n paradoksale situasie en die neutraliteit van die terapeut, wat aansluit by die tema van hierdie studie. Hierdie temas word geintegreer tydens die bespreking van die gevallestudie. / An individual case study is used in this study, to discuss the complementarity between distance and intimacy in the therapeutic relationship. The focus is on recursive and selfreflective processes between the therapist and the client in order to explain the way in which intimate and distant interactions were coconstructed. The therapeutic process was discussed in the context of ecosystemic and social constructionist epistemologies. Research was done according to the principles of the naturalistic research paradigm and overlaps between this research paradigm and epistemologies that were discussed are brought forward through the discussion of the case study. There are also references in this study to related issues, such as touching and boundaries in the therapeutic relationship, therapy as an a-social and paradoxical context, and the neutrality of the therapist, which connect with the theme of this study. These themes are integrated in the discussion of the case study. / Psychology / M.A. (Kliniese Sielkunde)

Change directed at social justice has been partial at best because it leaves the larger unequal context and structures in place. Social work generally takes place in the context of unequal power relation on individual/cultural/structural levels. The inquiry’s aim is to broaden the perspective on change to facilitate social justice. A qualitative approach that is exploratory and descriptive with a flare of phenomenology was used. Anti-oppressive constructionist research is the point of departure. As such the research attempts to be consistent with values of equality where participants are partners and share in the creation of the inquiry. So in the beginning only preliminary questions designed to provide context and stimulate thought about change are explored. The goals and objectives of the inquiry are to discover and describe the perceptions of activists and literature thus expanding meanings of social justice and how it can be facilitated. In the inquiry, motivation to work for change, what is needed to facilitate social justice, what blocks change for social justice and the values and principles that underlie change for social justice are explored. The inquiry asks the question: How can social workers and the profession of social work facilitate change for social justice? / Social Work / D.Phil (Social Work)

This research has been a study in amazement. Initially an agnostic physics graduate, the researcher undertook training in the person-centred approach (pca) to self-development and counselling, during which she came to experience strange personal experiences which she could neither gainsay nor fit into her then worldview. Sketching these briefly, exceptional human experiences (EHEs) and synchronicities increasingly happened until (shockingly) they declared a seeming spirit guide (Mungo) to her, also juxtaposed in time with her first-ever chance encounter with dowsing. Thereafter these phenomena, combined with randomisable image-cards, tutored her into a physically observable method of 'discussion' with them (alone or with another) conducted with pca values. This PhD involved researching that phenomenon-complex through 'discussions' with 35 participants. The methodology used was heuristics and its heuristic self-search inquiry specialism (HSSI) whose attention to personal experiencing, indwelling to contact tacit knowledge, and incubatory rest phases to foster illuminatory new 'ahaa!' apprehensions suited this nascent mysterious subject. Both participants and researcher experienced coincidences weaving the 'discussions' and their wider lives together. Thus synchronicity became equal-partner research-topic, being studied as it occurred and, through affecting certain choices, becoming part of the methodology itself. The phenomenon-complex was experienced as fostering ethical living, creativity, personal development and science-spirituality interconnection in ways wellpitched and paced for each experiencer. The phenomena were also experienced as synergizing with each other, and as fostering integration within and between persons. After work on the participant sessions was completed, the writings of further thesis chapters were 'butted into' by in-the-moment relevant synchronicities, not just singly but in flows and patterns in which the researcher found herself discerning overarching meanings. Given this exceptional opportunity the researcher (in effect doing a bonus research-section) tracked her experiencing of these synchronistic flows and her responses thereto wherever they led, using Sela-Smith's first-person heuristic self-search inquiry (HSSI) methodology. Each synchronistically-influenced chapter was experienced as exploring certain themes, with themes building as the thesis progressed. Heuristics and HSSI are usually transformative. This researcher was transformed from the ground up from agnosticism to credence in 'something more' through her experiencings (both alone and inter-relationally with participants). Their 'package deal' presented personal shadow-work alongside help in life difficulties, and great fascination but darker times too. In total she came to feel part of an interconnected, spiritually-intelligent and compassionate cosmic domain, and existentially happier.

The state of Maleness has received much attention in academic and public discourse of late. One such instance is the play Defending the Caveman, which depicts men in their ”natural” settings as Cavemen, thereby justifying Caveman-like behaviour. On the other hand, much writing exists that find men culpable of discrimination, violence and abuse towards others. Discourses like these have real effects on the ways in which men choose and act on their Maleness. Six men engaged in narrative therapeutic discussions in an attempt to share their stories of Maleness, to discuss how society constructs men, and to re-evaluate the Maleness chosen by the participants. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

This study explored the interaction between persons and songs in therapy, and was described according to the ideas of Social Constructionism and the Narrative Approach (Freedman & Combs, 1996; Gergen, 1985, 1994; Hoyt, 1998). The meanings around songs and the therapist-client interaction were explored. A flowing process evolved that allowed for new ideas to become part of the therapeutic conversations (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Hoffman, 1994). The research was qualitative as befits the above-mentioned epistemology. Therapeutic conversations evolved with a single client, in which songs and music were used to explore her life story. An unstructured interview was conducted to explore the therapeutic process underlying the incorporation of songs in therapeutic conversations. The hermeneutic method of analysis was employed to identify themes and meanings that encompassed the research participant's life story as well as the therapeutic process in which songs were utilised to facilitate therapeutic dialogues. It was found that the themes elicited in this study reflected the themes discussed in the literature. The following themes underlying the therapeutic process of songs were identified: songs created an emotional release; they elicited memories, feelings and imagery; they facilitated relaxation, coloured relationships and provided a new skill. This exploration of the themes allowed for rich descriptions of the participant's story and the therapeutic conversations, to emerge. / Clinical psychology / M.A. (Clinical psychology)

The purpose of the research, which shaped the research question, was exploring the social construction of cultural stories of substance abuse and the difference that God-stories can make in these circumstances. The research is about the difference that the positioning of the self in the biblical and Christ-stories, the stories of faith, can make in the construction of self-stories in the context of substance abuse. This study thus studied the social construction of self-stories embedded in God-stories in the context of a short-term rehabilitation programme for addiction. I had conversations with 12 participants in Ramot, a rehabilitation centre for alcohol and drug addiction in Parow, Cape Town in the year 2005. A narrative approach was followed, because it is particularly suited to exploring the interaction between stories of identity or self-stories, stories of faith or God-stories, and stories of the struggle with substance abuse. The concept of stories opens up issues and ideas that initially seem to be fixed „realities‟ to change, as alternative meanings can be applied and stories can be told differently in different contexts. This approach therefore correlates with people‟s lived experience. Stories as texts are constitutive of our worlds, but are open to re-visioning and editing. With regard to problematic stories, hope can thus be performed in telling stories differently (recognising different contexts) or in telling different stories (previously marginalised texts). The main body of the research is a theoretical consideration of the way self-stories, God-stories and the stories of a struggle with substance abuse are socially constructed. Particular attention is paid to the way in which self-stories are socially constructed, because that is the basis for the narrative approach adopted in the research. This includes the postmodern, social constructionist and poststructuralist emphasis on the discursive positioning of the self, with the alternative positionings that this makes possible. Religion/spirituality are explored as part of the narrative resources or context that contribute to the social construction of self-stories. For a believer, this relationship with God through biblical stories informs other relationships and influences the construction of the person‟s self-stories.This research report therefore also reflects a critical interaction between the contemporary situation in respect of the struggle with substance abuse and the stories of the Christian tradition for the sake of improved praxis by the faith community. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th.

Change directed at social justice has been partial at best because it leaves the larger unequal context and structures in place. Social work generally takes place in the context of unequal power relation on individual/cultural/structural levels. The inquiry’s aim is to broaden the perspective on change to facilitate social justice. A qualitative approach that is exploratory and descriptive with a flare of phenomenology was used. Anti-oppressive constructionist research is the point of departure. As such the research attempts to be consistent with values of equality where participants are partners and share in the creation of the inquiry. So in the beginning only preliminary questions designed to provide context and stimulate thought about change are explored. The goals and objectives of the inquiry are to discover and describe the perceptions of activists and literature thus expanding meanings of social justice and how it can be facilitated. In the inquiry, motivation to work for change, what is needed to facilitate social justice, what blocks change for social justice and the values and principles that underlie change for social justice are explored. The inquiry asks the question: How can social workers and the profession of social work facilitate change for social justice? / Social Work / D.Phil (Social Work)

Text in Afrikaans / Die komplementariteit tussen afstand en intimiteit in die terapeutiese verhouding word ge"illustreer en bespreek aan die hand van 'n enkeie gevallestudie. Die klem is op rekursiewe en selfverwysende prosesse wat tussen die terapeut en kiient plaasvind, sodat die vvyse waarop intiemer en meer afstandelike interaksies ge-kokreer is, uitgelig word. Die terapeutiese proses word binne die raamwerk van die ekosistemiese en sosiale konstruksionistiese epistomologie bespreek. Navorsing word uitgevoer volgens die naturalistiese navorsingsparadigma en raakpunte tussen die navorsingsparadigma en epistomologie wat bespreek is, word aan die hand van die gevaliestudie ge"illustreer. In die studie word daar ook verwys na verwante kwessies, soos aanraking en grense in die terapeutiese verhouding, terapie as 'n a-sosiale konteks, terapie as 'n paradoksale situasie en die neutraliteit van die terapeut, wat aansluit by die tema van hierdie studie. Hierdie temas word geintegreer tydens die bespreking van die gevallestudie. / An individual case study is used in this study, to discuss the complementarity between distance and intimacy in the therapeutic relationship. The focus is on recursive and selfreflective processes between the therapist and the client in order to explain the way in which intimate and distant interactions were coconstructed. The therapeutic process was discussed in the context of ecosystemic and social constructionist epistemologies. Research was done according to the principles of the naturalistic research paradigm and overlaps between this research paradigm and epistemologies that were discussed are brought forward through the discussion of the case study. There are also references in this study to related issues, such as touching and boundaries in the therapeutic relationship, therapy as an a-social and paradoxical context, and the neutrality of the therapist, which connect with the theme of this study. These themes are integrated in the discussion of the case study. / Psychology / M.A. (Kliniese Sielkunde)

This paper reports on an on-line collaborative design project of which the final outcome was a comprehensive, international World-Wide Web database of experts in the field of Instructional Technology as part of a learning task for post-graduate students in the same field. The main objective of the study was to determine the extent to which computer-supported collaborative design without face-to-face contact could be used to create a useful resource in this field. Sub-questions that arose were: How does a computer-supported collaborative design process evolve in an open-ended learning environment? What support could student designers working on a real-life project expect from their peers and experts in the field? How does one judge the success of such a project? What direct benefits can students derive from computer-supported collaborative design? The iterative design process was explored by means of an action research case study methodology. Three sets of issues fundamental to constructivist learning in an open-ended virtual environment came under scrutiny, viz. collaborative and participatory design, computer-mediated collaboration and collaborative learning. lt was found that computer-supported collaborative design could be a highly effective method both of learning and of producing a valuable artefact. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2001. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of women who felt that they had to reject their femininity in favour of masculinity, and who later reclaimed their femininity. The epistemological framework of this study is social constructionism. This study involves in-depth interviews with three women who rejected their femininity and subsequently either reclaimed, or are in the process of reclaiming their femininity. The data was analysed using Hermeneutics. The participants' stories were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes that characterised the rejection and the reclaiming of their femininity. A comparative analysis between the three participants was undertaken. The information gained could assist professionals in understanding the process involved in why some women reject and later reclaim their femininity. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)